New Moon Old Magick

Hello my dears!

We have a few eventful days coming upon us quickly!  Time is flying, and we are approaching the New Moon of March.  (the peak of the Dark moon will be March 22 at about 2:45pm UT)

The peak is close, and thus the energies of the Dark moon begin to seep into our consciousness.  This is the time of pruning, of cutting from our lives those things that we no longer need or want, or of harvesting or taking in those things that belong to us.  It is a time of defining what we have accomplished in this past month, and beginning to plan what we wish to achieve in the new month approaching.

At the beginning of the present moon cycle, I wrote about finding your wand.  I recommended searching for the tree and the branch and marking it for yourself, or finding the dowel or walking stick to re-purpose.  I recommended taking time to align your energies with the host tree, to wend your way psychically into the wood element.  I spoke of some of the benefits of aligning your spine with wood energy in nature, and of the extension of your own life force blended with the tree’s energy that your wand would become.

Spring Dogwood

Now we come to the time of wand taking.  On the 17th of this month of March, at about 4:30pm UT (or 30 minutes past 12 noon here on the East Coast of the US), the moon will go into Aquarius.  You may remember my last post on the New Moon in Aquarius, and how I spoke of Aquarius as being a barren air sign, most commonly used for pruning, or even harvesting.  Well this wand was conceived, if you will, in a fruitful sign, either Pisces or Taurus if you were following along with my suggestions.  It is appropriate that it be harvested in the sign of cutting.

Why would we want to avoid harvesting in the sign of Pisces, just days before the New Moon?  After all, the Pisces Moon was the first choice of times to choose the tree and mark the branch.  Wouldn’t it be good to go full cycle?  It is not about cycle, so much as it is about timing.  Pisces, being a fertile and watery sign, increases the likelihood that whatever you cut during this sign will bleed and rot.  It is neither a good sign for surgery, nor for harvesting things you wish to keep from plants you wish to live.  So we will avoid it, and use the waning moon in Aquarius, as it is perfect for our purposes.  If you are otherwise occupied on the 17th and 18th, and cannot go out to harvest your wand, then you CAN use the last four or five hours before the peak of the Dark of the Moon, when the Moon will go into Aries.  However, the caveat here is twofold:

• First, you will be two days after the Spring Equinox, as the Sun will enter Aries at 5:15am UT on March 20.  This is pretty much traditionally the last of the wand harvesting days.  But again, it is only two days past, and it would be better to time the harvest to the moon phase and sign, so as to avoid the complications of harvesting at a time that will impede what you are trying to do.
• Second, I tend to avoid practical magick during the peak of the Dark Moon personally, as I find the energies to be very intense.  Instead, I use the Dark of the Moon for divination, where I seek to see into the unknown, or internally purposed High Ritual, where I attempt to journey into deep inner paths.  But it is true that Moon in Aries is dry, fiery, and fast.  Very good for harvest overall.  So if you wish, or circumstances allow, the small window of time just before the peak of the Dark would be the next time to cut the wand.

However, as I said above, the best timing in terms of high holiday and moon phase, would be the 17th and the 18th of March.

Here are your wand cutting suggestions:

• Remember to take an offering to the tree, and present yourself respectfully.  A cup of compost tea, a jug of good blessed spring water, copper pennies, something small and silver.  Whatever you give is up to you, but don’t forget to give in thanks.  You are not dominating the tree or the branch by cutting it.  You are being gifted by the forces of nature.  This is a privilege.
• When you cut your wand, use the sharpest trimmers or pruners you can find.  Sharpen them yourself if you need to.  This will make the cut much less traumatic, less crushing, and cleaner for the tree.
• Cut your branch outside of the branch collar or the knot in the trunk that your branch springs out from.
• Make the cut at a diagonal, so that the bottom sticks out and the top of the cut comes closer to the collar.
• Just remember NOT to cut into the collar.  Remain just outside of it.  This way the tree will remain healthy and it’s main branch will not be impaired.
• Since we are cutting for wands, the branch you will cut probably will not be larger than 1″ in diameter, and so you can just cut cleanly in a single snip.
• And, since the branch we are cutting is relatively small, you should not need to worry about sealing the wound.  The tree will heal itself just fine, especially if you have meditated with the tree, and it has withdrawn some of its energy in preparation for the loss of the branch.

Next you will need to trim the branch to the correct size for your wand.

• Take the branch back to your place, and lay it down on a table.
• Determine where you want the butt-end of the wand to be (about your thumb’s width or slightly larger OR at a place where the branch looks really wonderful or unusual)
• Mark this place with a pen or chalk.
• Lay your forearm down next to or on top of the branch, with your elbow at the place you’ve just marked.
• Stretch out your fingers to their furthest reach along the branch, and mark the place where your longest or middle finger ends.
• Using a dremmel or a similar small saw, cut the two places you have marked.

Congratulations.  You have your wand.

Now put the wand in a warm dry place for a few days.  Don’t be afraid to handle it as much as you want.  Familiarity breeds better magick.  And don’t throw away the branch pieces you have trimmed off.  You will use these for that Rune set we will make a bit later on!  Leave these pieces in the same warm dry place for awhile.

Good work, my dears!  You have the first of your magickal tools.  I will be back in a few days to talk about the Spring Equinox, and to suggest ways to decorate your wand to make it fully yours.

Blessed Be,
Marie Angeli

What a wonderful day to plant bulbs!

Good morning, everyone!  Just a heads’ up, the moon is about to go on into Scorpio.  It is the waning phase, and the Scorpio moon is considered second only to the Cancer moon for fertility, so anything that bulbs or fruits below ground is wonderful to plant now.  Also, Scorpio is known for it’s ability to produce flowers and good strong vines – sort of like Virgo, except with the mega fertility of a water sign.  Go for it!  Garden your socks off today!  Just avoid the temptation to harvest anything you are not going to eat right away – assuming that you HAVE anything to harvest at this early in March…  But the Scorpio moon can also make anything you pick rot pretty quickly.  All that strong water energy will rot your potatoes if you pick them now, so resist the harvest unless you eat it today or tomorrow.

HOWEVER, water magick of all kinds is truly excellent now.

• Pick a leaf if you have access to flowing water, either a stream or the sea.

• You can write your wish on the leaf, and then roll it up and tie it if it is big enough.

• If you can, write the wish in symbols, like a rose for endless love surrounded by a heart.  Or you can use the charm that folks have been using for hundreds of years: your initials + your partner’s initials surrounded by a heart.  What, you mean you didn’t realize that was a magick charm?  Use your imagination!  I’m using a love spell example, but you can wish for whatever you …..wish!

• Write out a rhyme with your wish in it.  Short and sweet.  Example: “Deep sea, endless sea, bring my true love back to me.”

• Chant your rhyme over and over as you hold this leaf.  Chant your energy and your wishes into the leaf.  Imagine the energy of your wish flowing into the veins and fibers of the leaf, filling it up.

Common Sense Alert:  When we do high ritual in our private places, we do so with incense, sound, costumes, noise, or whatever roasts your toast.  The kind of natural magick I’m writing about here, happens quietly and personally.  If you are alone on a beach, you can sing out your chant.  If you are standing on a boardwalk next to a river, surrounded by a million people, you can easily chant your charm silently so they don’t call the Crazy Train to come pick you up!

• When you are ready, let it go!  Toss it into the water and let the water take it away.

• The return flow should bring your wish back to you, or at least that is the tradition.  How do you think all those notes got put in all those bottles anyway, eh?

Please note: if you time your spell to just after the high tide, the natural flow of the tides will help your wish travel.  The return tide will bring you word (remember to Listen), and soon your wish will return to you.

Enjoy your day, lovies!

Blessed Be,
Marie Angeli